We decided to respect what has been one of the best careers ever for an undrafted player. Romo became the first quarterback in NFL history to have nine consecutive seasons with at least 60 percent completions, 7.0 yards per attempt and a 90.0 passer rating (minimum 200 attempts). From 2006 to 2014, Romo completed 65.2 percent of his passes with 242 touchdowns, 110 interceptions, 7.9 yards per attempt and a 97.6 passer rating. In light of a false reputation for falling apart in crunch time, Romo owns Dallas franchise records with 25 fourth-quarter comebacks and 30 game-winning drives.

Despite his individual success, Romo never led Dallas to the NFC Championship Game, let alone a Super Bowl. He came close in the 2007 and 2014 seasons, but Dallas was unable to close in the fourth quarter of both divisional-round losses. While his past two seasons have been marred by injury, Romo will likely look to a new destination in 2017 in pursuit of the ring that could put him in the Hall of Fame one day … provided he can return to top form.

Kacsmar’s praise for Romo as a player is the type of credit Cowboys fans have desired from the national media for years. Even still, the reason for Romo’s appearance on this list has to be a gut-wrenching thing for Cowboys fans to contemplate; you had one of the game’s best players for 10 years and couldn’t capitalize on it.

Romo’s place on such a list might not last much longer, however. Romo is likely going to play somewhere else in 2017, and he will undoubtedly choose a team that gives him the best chance to win a Super Bowl in his waning years.